


my heart is shaking

by towokuwusatsuwu



Category: Kamen Rider Ghost
Genre: Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Canonical Character Death, Cat/Human Hybrids, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Smut, F/F, Femslash, Friends to Lovers, Moving In Together, Multi, Polyamory, Slow Burn, Threesome - M/M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-17
Updated: 2017-09-17
Packaged: 2018-12-30 20:31:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12116670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/towokuwusatsuwu/pseuds/towokuwusatsuwu
Summary: Takeru Tenkuji takes in an orphaned hybrid named Alain when his father dies and he has nowhere else to turn to. A stormy night reveals that his childhood friends, Makoto and Kanon Fukami, are also in need of a place to live. Takeru always told himself he would take in a hybrid when the time was right, but fate has other plans, and Takeru has never been able to turn his back on someone in need. In the process of helping Alain overcome his loss and softening the walls Makoto has built around himself, Takeru might just find that the time was right for the three of them after all.





	my heart is shaking

Takeru Tenkuji’s cell phone buzzes in his pocket when he’s knelt in the middle of the historical section of the bookstore, an open box next to him. He glances around quickly to make sure his manager is nowhere nearby before retrieving the device from his pocket, quickly typing in his pass code so he can open the message from Akari. Odd. She never texts him at work.

_ Come to the temple as soon as work is over. Onari says it’s important. _ The message is vague and Takeru furrows his brows at the words, biting down on his lower lip. Important? Hopefully it’s nothing serious. At least his shift only has an hour and a half left on it.

_ Not a problem. Be there as soon as possible. _ He slides his phone back into his pocket quickly.

Takeru’s father had been the master of the temple before his death when Takeru was still young, and Takeru had inherited the title. He had only recently moved out when Akari had told him about an open apartment in her building and insisted he take the great opportunity offered.

“Takeru?” A familiar voice makes his head pop up and swivel around. “Sorry to startle you!”

“No, it’s okay!” Takeru pushes himself to his feet, dusting off his pants and smiling at the young man standing in front of him. “I knew you’d be coming for your order today, after all.”

Tomonori Kimura had been one of the regular customers of Takeru’s bookstore even before he started working here; the two of them had become friendly with each other over time and Takeru had taken over handling all of Tomonori’s orders. Most of them were gifts for his human, Tsuneo Tanaka, who Takeru had heard plenty about but never met in person. He was usually too busy with work to shop around much, so Tomonori tended to handle that for him.

Tomonori’s ears perk up at Takeru’s words, and he flashes him a grin. “You’re always on top of things.”

It was easy to be on top of things in such a small bookstore. Even though the city was a large one and they had plenty of regular customers and orders— enough that they were always in constant need of new employees— Takeru found it easy to remember most of the regular customers and their usual orders. He tracked them, figured out when the customers would be coming in to pick them up, and always made sure they were within easy reach. As soon as he rounds the checkout counter, he’s able to retrieve the box that contains Tomonori’s order, already neatly gift wrapped. As soon as Takeru sets the package on the counter, Tomonori’s hand darts out, fingers toying with the curling ribbons on top.

The sight makes Takeru smile to himself, and he’s got enough self-control not to outwardly croon over how cute the scene is. Cat hybrids have always been his favorite breed, and as far as he’s concerned, Tomonori is just about every positive trait tied up into a neat bow.

“I thought you would like that one,” he says, ringing up the purchase on the register.

“You know me too well. That’s what Tsuneo always says when he gives me the ribbons you put on the presents, anyway.” Tomonori hands over a credit card and Takeru scans it, falling into the easy motions of completing the transaction. It’s more of muscle memory than actual thought at this point. “I’m going to drag him in here one day to meet you.”

“I mean, it’s not a big deal if he’s just super busy with work. I’m sure we’ll run into each other one day,” Takeru says, tapping a few buttons on the register.

“No, he wants to meet you.” The words have Takeru’s face turning away from the screen in front of him, his eyes widening slightly. “Not because of anything bad! He just hears me talk about you and wants to meet you. You’re one of the nicest humans in the city concerning hybrids.”

Takeru blinks a few times, letting the words sink in before smiling. “Thanks for that.”

Not all humans were as kind and accepting of hybrids as Takeru is, and he knows that well enough. His father had taught him to be kind to everyone, and had taken a pair of hybrid siblings into the temple when Takeru was still a kid. He’d grown up beside them, and played with them, and it had never really occurred to him there was much of a difference between them until he was old enough to see it in society himself and those hybrids were long gone. His bookstore has always been friendly to hybrid customers. Not all places in the city are.

“I’m surprised you don’t have a hybrid of your own, actually. You get along with all the hybrids who come here pretty well.” Tomonori takes the receipt Takeru offers him, folding it up neatly and tucking it into his wallet. “Have you thought about taking one of us in?”

“Of course. I just haven’t really looked. Maybe one day, though.” Takeru carefully sets the wrapped book in a bag and holds it out to Tomonori. “When I do, you’ll get to meet them.”

Tomonori grins at him, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “I’d be honored.”

Takeru returns to his open box of books on the ground, going back to carefully slotting them into the shelves, making sure everything is in alphabetical order and referring to the stapled set of sheets next to him as he does. It’s important to keep everything in order, sorted by the author’s last names and by genre so customers can find anything they should so happen to need.

He can’t help but think about Tomonori’s words as he works, though. Of course, Takeru has always gotten along with hybrids, and more often than not he’s thought about taking one in. Circumstances and cruel humans have left quite a few of them homeless, after all.

It isn’t like he hasn’t wanted to take a hybrid in; he had let more than a few stay at the temple when they needed somewhere to go, after all. But he’d never really gone out to the places in the city that take in homeless hybrids until they can find a home. He’d always assumed when the time was right, it would happen. Maybe the time just hasn’t been right for him yet.

“Takeru!” The familiar voice of his manager, Edith, makes him jump about two feet in the air before the eccentric elderly man pokes his head around the shelf. “Are you about done?”

“Just finished.” Takeru slots the last book into place and breaks down the box in his hands, careful not to cut himself on his boxcutter as he does. He’s had more than his fair share of cuts since taking this job, though most of them are just shallow papercuts from the boxes rather than from his actual knife. “Is there anything you need me to do before I go for the day?”

Edith shakes his head, patting Takeru on the shoulder as he walks by him. “Have a good weekend, try to enjoy it but not  _ too _ much. I’ll see you on Monday morning.”

A very loud sneeze alerts Takeru to a familiar furry presence, having perched herself on one of the lounging chairs. He crouches down in front of her, scratching behind one triangular ear until she purrs up at him. “I will. Goodbye, Yurusen, I hope you have a good weekend too.”

Yurusen meows up at him in what he assumes is a farewell, and Takeru shoulders his bag before taking his leave. Immediately, he fishes his cell phone out of his pocket, tapping out a quick message to Akari.  _ On the way. Tell Onari I’ll be there as soon as I can be. _

The reply is so immediate that Takeru stops walking as he looks down at the screen, his stomach twisting a little at just how quickly Akari has answered him. First the request to come as soon as he could, and now automatic answers. Was she waiting for his message? He hopes everything is okay. Her reply is too vague for him to figure much out:  _ I will. See you soon. _

“I hope everything’s okay,” he murmurs to himself, then hurries to catch the bus. At least it’s not that long of a ride to the temple, and it’ll be faster than walking there.

He wonders if anyone in the temple might have been sick or hurt. Onari has been a dear friend to him ever since he was young, and he likes Shibuya and Narita well enough to be unsettled at the thought something might have happened to them. Of course, he might just be thinking up such things because he’s anxious. It might, and probably isn’t, as bad as he’s thinking.

Still, he can’t help but think  _ please hurry up _ as he turns his gaze out the window.

* * *

A familiar black car sets outside of the temple; Takeru recognizes it as belonging to Javert, a man he knows vaguely as being a friend of Onari’s who works for some rich man in another city. The car itself is nothing special, but Takeru feels all the more unsettled at the sight of it, hurrying up the path to the temple and stepping inside. The sound of voices lead him to the kitchen and he stops in the doorway, his mouth struggling to work at the sight that greets him.

He knows that the temple has visitors from time to time and has come in when there have been half a dozen people here at least, but this… Is not that kind of situation, and he can tell that immediately. Three unfamiliar hybrids sit at the table, all of the humans in the room standing closer to the walls, as if giving them some space. All of them are eerily quiet, though judging by the fact all three of them are wearing black, Takeru assumes someone must have just passed away. The thought is disquieting, but before he can think too much about it, Akari takes him by the arm and drags him just out of the room, a serious expression on her face.

“Javert brought them here a couple of hours ago. They’re why I asked you to come here,” she says, and then Javert himself steps into the room, clearing his throat.

“Takeru, nice to see you again,” he says, bowing his head, and Takeru nods in response, still struggling to make sense of the situation. “The three of them are siblings. They were the children of my business associate, Adonis. He had been ill until very recently and just passed away a few days ago. Of course… That would leave his three children homeless, as hybrids aren’t particularly allowed to own property.”

“How did their father keep them?” Takeru asks, furrowing his eyebrows.

“Adonis was a human man. I’m sorry, pictures speak a thousand words, don’t they?” Javert retrieves his cell phone, passing it to Takeru a few seconds later. The picture on the screen is of a rather handsome human man with his arm around a hybrid woman, her soft triangular ears visible above the sheen of her dark hair, three smaller hybrids between them. “His wife, Alicia.”

“She passed away when they were children,” Akari says, obviously having already heard this story. Takeru wonders how long she’s been here. “Onari called me and told me to let you know to come here. Javert wants to know if we can keep any of them.”

“Keep… Oh, you mean if we can take any of them in. I… I don’t know.” Takeru passes Javert his phone back, sucking his lower lip between his teeth, biting down on it uncertainly. It would have been one thing to take in a hybrid, but he doesn’t know if he can take care of one who just lost their father on top of already having lost their mother. They need someone, obviously, but… “Are you going to take one of them in, Akari? Have you already made a decision?”

Akari sighs, crossing her arms. “I’m not sure. It’s a hard decision to make, but…”

“I wouldn’t force either of you two to do so, or guilt you into doing it,” Javert says, his voice lower, softer. “They are all wonderful hybrids. I’ve known them for years. I just don’t want to see them split up or homeless. So if you know anyone else who can take them in—”

“Wait.” Takeru squeezes his eyes shut, trying to juggle the pros and cons of this situation. He’s been told a dozen times over by the very hybrids he sees in his store each day that he would be well-suited to take in a hybrid, and he’d told himself he would when the time was right. How could this be anything but fate’s way of nudging him along? “Can we speak to them first?”

“Of course you can.” Javert leads them back into the kitchen and Onari sends Takeru a bright smile as he hovers in the corner before turning his gaze back to the hybrids sitting at the table. There is food laid out for them, but they just pick at it more than actually eat it. The older boy looks almost hostile, the younger lost, and the girl just looks sad.

“Adel,” Javert says, resting his hand on the older boy’s shoulder, “Alia,” a gentle squeeze on the girl’s shoulder, “and Alain.” A firmer squeeze and a tiny shake that makes the cat— Alain— blink his eyes and look around. So he had been spaced out, then. “They’re all adults, all incredibly well-spoken and well-mannered. Their parents raised them well.”

“I don’t know that I like being spoken of as if I’m not in the room and also about to be sold off to someone,” Adel mutters, his ears twitching backward. Takeru can’t blame him.

Alia reaches across the table, taking her brother’s hands in her own and holding them tightly. “I know it isn’t preferable, but you know Javert means no harm. And Onari says they’re nice people.”

“Are you the oldest of your siblings?” Akari asks, her tone soft and gentle.

Alia glances up at her, trying for a smile that doesn’t quite reach her sad brown eyes. “I am, yes. Adel is younger than I am, but Alain is the baby of the family. It would… I suppose I could understand if we couldn’t see each other all the time after this, probably not every day, but… It would be hard for me to not have my brothers in my life.”

“Oh, depending on how this goes, you’d be able to see them often. Takeru and I are close friends, after all. We even live just next door to each other.” Akari offers Alia a small smile in return and Takeru smiles to himself, ducking his head a little to hide the expression. He isn’t surprised that Akari is interested in the single girl of the bunch, and judging by the way Alia’s ears twitch gently at her words, the interest might be mutual.

“Ah, this might be a bit forward of me to suggest, but I could take one of you in here at the temple. We have plenty of room for another guest, and I’ve always been quite taken by cats.” Onari steps a little away from the wall as he speaks, and Takeru glances between Adel and Alain. Alain already has his eyes turned back to the mug of tea in front of him, his ears almost flat against his scalp while Adel watches Onari carefully. “Takeru and Akari stop by here often, as well, so it would be simple for us to set up visits so you could all see each other.”

As soon as he finishes speaking, Adel’s gaze snaps toward Takeru, his eyes harsh and hard and Takeru flinches back against the wall before he realizes what he’s doing. “Do you intend to take one of us in, or are you only here to listen to everyone else talk?”

“I-I’ve always thought about taking in a hybrid,” Takeru says, clearing his throat a little when his voice comes out nervous. “This is just… A sad situation. I’m sorry that it’s come to this for you.”

Adel scoffs at him. “That isn’t what I asked you. I asked you if you planned on taking one of us in. If you do, you should take my little brother. I can stay here at the temple.”

“Aniue—” Alain starts, but he quickly stops when Takeru looks at him, just turning his gaze back to his mug, drumming his fingers against the porcelain. “I don’t wish for you to be alone.”

“It’s better this way,” Adel says. “You need Alia right now. I would be fine on my own. Simple.”

Takeru clears his throat and Alain looks up at him, and it’s then that Takeru realizes one of his ears is black, but the other is the same pale gold threaded through his hair. “I would be happy to take you in, Alain. I have a nice apartment, just like Akari’s, and you could see your sister every day. And we can come visit your brother. You’d have your own bedroom and everything.”

Javert sets his hand back on Alain’s shoulder, giving it another squeeze. “Alain, I know this is hard for you, and I am sorry about this. But Takeru is a good man who keeps his word.”

Alain’s ears flatten back against his scalp and Takeru feels his stomach churn at the sight— it’s a usual symptom of a hybrid being sad or troubled, and he wishes Alain didn’t have to feel such a way. “I suppose… If Aneue will be near, it will not be so bad.”

Onari claps his hands, bowing a little at the waist to Adel. “Young master, we’ll get you set up in your own quarters as well. You’ll have plenty of privacy here, that I can promise.”

Akari rounds the table to meet Alia, who stands slowly to greet her, but Takeru finds himself frozen against the wall, watching as Alain drums his fingers against his mug, his ears almost hidden in his ear, his tail limply hanging from the chair behind him.

What have the two of them gotten themselves into?


End file.
